*bounces* So I've finally seen the first four eps of Mai Otome! Well, again, I should say. XD I wasn't feeling well the first time I saw them so I couldn't really put together coherent thoughts to make a review. So here are my first impressions of the series....

So far, I am quite enjoying it. I like how they are keeping some of the characters and the general Mai-HiMEness, but its in a whole new setting with a whole new story. Arika is SO cute! And reminds me so much of Tsukino Usagi from Sailor Moon X3 And seriously, who has seen Sailor Moon doesn't love Usagi? I'm really enjoying her as the main focus and main character of the series. I love how her hair goes into different shapes if she's shocked or fangirling over Shizuru XDDD

Nina Wang (*snort* Wang.) is a pretty typical rival character, but she reminds me so much of Meiling Li from Cardcaptor Sakura I can't help but like her. They have very similar attitudes, although Nina is a lot less flaily than Meiling XD

I think my favorite part so far is the use of all the characters from Mai-HiME, from Mikoto the kitty, to Yukariko the teacher, to even Chie.... *gets distracted thinking of naked Chie in the bath* I mean.. *clears throat* Chie's still pretty much the same XD Whether completely different (Mashiro the bratty queen) or even just on a sign (Fumi, when they're looking around the city), its so cool to see all the references to them.

Also love HENSHIN SCENES! I can't wait to see everyone's. I'm a big sucker for magical girl type anime like that that has awesome henshin sequences.

The only thing I don't really like so far is Nagi, but that hasn't changed really from Mai-HiME XDD I really can't wait to see more, the first four eps have really caught my attention.

Midori Sugiura wrote:*bounces* So I've finally seen the first four eps of Mai Otome! Well, again, I should say. XD I wasn't feeling well the first time I saw them so I couldn't really put together coherent thoughts to make a review. So here are my first impressions of the series....

So far, I am quite enjoying it. I like how they are keeping some of the characters and the general Mai-HiMEness, but its in a whole new setting with a whole new story. Arika is SO cute! And reminds me so much of Tsukino Usagi from Sailor Moon X3 And seriously, who has seen Sailor Moon doesn't love Usagi? I'm really enjoying her as the main focus and main character of the series. I love how her hair goes into different shapes if she's shocked or fangirling over Shizuru XDDD

Nina Wang (*snort* Wang.) is a pretty typical rival character, but she reminds me so much of Meiling Li from Cardcaptor Sakura I can't help but like her. They have very similar attitudes, although Nina is a lot less flaily than Meiling XD

I think my favorite part so far is the use of all the characters from Mai-HiME, from Mikoto the kitty, to Yukariko the teacher, to even Chie.... *gets distracted thinking of naked Chie in the bath* I mean.. *clears throat* Chie's still pretty much the same XD Whether completely different (Mashiro the bratty queen) or even just on a sign (Fumi, when they're looking around the city), its so cool to see all the references to them.

Also love HENSHIN SCENES! I can't wait to see everyone's. I'm a big sucker for magical girl type anime like that that has awesome henshin sequences.

The only thing I don't really like so far is Nagi, but that hasn't changed really from Mai-HiME XDD I really can't wait to see more, the first four eps have really caught my attention.

*snort* Wang.

I'm so glad you enjoyed Mai Otome so far! <3 The rest of the DVDs are on their way! *bounce* You'll soon discover that Mai Otome is more fanservice heavy than Mai HiME. Even so, it still has an epic story. One of the things I can give Sunrise credit is never losing too much sight on the overall storytelling. You can have your bouncing female bazoomas and serious plot at the same time.

As you already know, I'm a HUGE mark for Arika. Remember my collection? XD She's the most awesome character Mai-Otome because of her dumbness and kickassness. She is a lot like Sailor Moon, it's not even funny. O_O Meister Shizuru Viola really made an impact on Arika, causing instant wetness! XD

The series get better, trust me. Mai Otome has a very slow start, it starts to pick up later on like Mai HiME did. Like you, I also enjoy the henshin sequences! They're called Materialize!!! While not as fancy as what you see on Sailor Moon, Mai Otome's sequences are fast and pretty cool too. Nao fangirls like Megan are lucky, since she has the best transformation next to Arika.

XD As you keep watching Mai Otome, I hope you will review the rest! <333 As for the rest of you, this thread is open for discussion on the entire series. Enjoy!

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

If it weren't for Mai HiME's very powerful second arc, I would most likely prefer Mai-Otome. HiME is very down to earth and Otome is geared more towards fantasy.

I admit the time I first saw Mai-Otome, I was very homesick for HiME. Desperately wanting a continuation rather than a new series. Thing have changed. ^_~

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

SpiderNeKoHiME wrote:it's all bout variety my friend :3 i likes the idea of two different queen nao. now i'll have double the secks. -heart flutters-

XDDDD IMO, you stand a better chance with the sneaky Juliet-Nao. She's not bitter like HiME-Nao.

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

So I have finally seen the next 4 eps of Mai Otome! X3 I know, its about damn time :D

Things are starting to pick up, I am really liking the pace of the series so far. Its not going boringly slow, nor is it going too fast, allowing for some filler eps, like the one with the perverted pool monster XDD I gotta admit, I loved that ep a lot. And finding Nina's weakness >>

But yes, we're starting to get more into the plot now, and learning more about the characters. Nina is turning very much into the "I don't need to rely on anyone" Natsuki of this series XD And she's doing it well. I'm starting to really enjoy Mashiro's character. She is very different than HiME!Mashiro, and its quite refreshing. I like we're learning more and more about her.

I'm starting to respect Miss Maria more and more, and good lord she is one hot older woman. And Luu has hinted she is going to get even more awesome as the series goes on ~_^ I can't wait :D

Miyu has finally appeared! And she is freaking bad ass as usual. Despite Alyssa being a creepy bird now >>

Seeing Arika transform with the Blue Sky Sapphire was SO freaking cool. Absolutely love the henshin sequence, and her outfit. Her first attempt at fighting transformed was so like Sailor Moon's, it made me laugh. Arika and Usagi are so similar in so many ways.

Volume two was packed with filler. At least it's good filler like in Sailor Moon. Nothing serious is happening...yet...so why not offer some fanservice. It's not like the story was progressing fast in the beginning of Mai-HiME either. Just be aware that the second half is where things pick up. ^_~ Always been that way.

Midori Sugiura99 wrote:I'm starting to respect Miss Maria more and more, and good lord she is one hot older woman. And Luu has hinted she is going to get even more awesome as the series goes on ~_^ I can't wait :D

Miss Maria is one of the greatest characters ever thought up by SUNRISE. Like I can't believe how great she is. You will witness her greatness rise in upcoming episodes, trust me on that. <3

Midori Sugiura99 wrote:Despite Alyssa being a creepy bird now >>

>_> Is it wrong that I wanna torture Alyssa-bird? It just stares at people with those beady little eyes....

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

Midori Sugiura99 wrote:Its filler, but its still filler that has some plot points in it. It is really good filler, so I've definitely been enjoying it, and of course the fanservice ~_^

And no torturing Alyssa-birdie! She may be a creepy bird but at least she's cute XDD

I'll write my thoughts on the next 4 eps tomorrow probably, for I am a sleepy Midori now. In short, Midori is bad ass and I LOVE CHIE. XD More tomorrow X3

It does, like the hiking episode. It's basically a build up to two major plot points that will become important in the future:

Meeting the Aswad (Midori's fugly gang)

Arika and Sergay lovey doviness. O_O;

The fanservice was quite good. ^_~ I can easily tell you were laughing your ass off when Chie saw what the girls prepared for her dinner. She too, was laughing her ass off. :lol:

Midori couldn't of kicked more ass. We even get the return of Gakutenou! Midori in Otome gets points for several reasons, one of them is taking on Meister Otome head on. She could of beaten Shizuru if she really wanted. ^_^

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

Midori is definitely more... kick ass? I guess the phrase I'm looking for in Otome than HiME. She definitely is awesome and kicks ass in HiME but taking on Shizuru O_O Holy cow. That scene was amazing.

I have now watched Vol. 3 and 4! So we're over halfway through now. There was a lot introduced in volume 3, and the characters are really starting to develop. As I've already said, MIDORI KICKS ASS. I don't think she's going to take the cake as my favorite for Otome (we'll see though, there's still more to go but right now my heart is belonging to Chie X3), but I'm really enjoying her new persona. The scene where she took on Shizuru head on was so intense. I love Gakutenou made another appearance X3 So far the fight scenes have been really action packed. For someone like me with anime ADD, this is awesome XD The hiking challenge eps were really good, I just feel so sorry for poor Ertsy. She seems to be getting a lot of abuse XD

Most awesome thing ever, we wound up watching the birthday episode on SEPTEMBER 7TH. How creepy XD We didn't do that on purpose at all. I gotta give Sunrise some credit for being a bit creative with the birthdays and giving so many characters the same birthday. Since that's so rare for anime to do that since everyone has to be omgs unique XD

Anyhoos! I was surprised by the appearance of Akira as "the prince" I was really hoping they didn't turn her into a dude and was soooooooo glad they didn't XDD But I love she and Takumi have shown up <3 Even if Takumi was a wuss in HiME XD He seems at least a bit less wussy in Otome XD

So now in volume 4 we're getting into Arika falling in love with SerGAY. I'll write my full feelings on that in the thread Luu made later when I've finished the series but... I dunno. I like that this is such a plot point since men are such a no no for the otome, but why SerGAY. I guess cuz it causes more conflict between her and Nina. I don't really like Sergay that much and if Arika's going to fall in love, I'd rather it be with someone more worthy like my Luu X3

So we end with shitt starting to pick up thanks to Nagi being an ass XD Definitely looking forward to the next volume. I can't judge yet whether I like Otome or HiME more considering I'm only a little more than halfway through but I definitely love Otome. And Chie. A lot.

Nice review, Midori-sama! <333 Now things get serious. ^_~ The new "Crystal Energy" opening is proof of that.

Midori Sugiura99 wrote:Anyhoos! I was surprised by the appearance of Akira as "the prince" I was really hoping they didn't turn her into a dude and was soooooooo glad they didn't XDD

*covers your mouth* Don't give SUNRISE any ideas now!

Midori Sugiura99 wrote:I don't really like Sergay that much and if Arika's going to fall in love, I'd rather it be with someone more worthy like my Luu X3

O_O; I don't think I wanna date Arika. She's like a hero to me, not a lover type. ;p I know what you mean, darling. *fondles your Melons*

Midori Sugiura99 wrote:So we end with shitt starting to pick up thanks to Nagi being an ass XD Definitely looking forward to the next volume. I can't judge yet whether I like Otome or HiME more considering I'm only a little more than halfway through but I definitely love Otome. And Chie. A lot.

That's it, I'm dedicated a thread to Chie RIGHT NOW! Oh and how dare you not mention Akane/Kazuya's beautiful episode. <3 Straightness is overlooked again. *sulks in a corner* Only Kara understands what I go through. :cry:

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

:D It's refreshing to see Kazuya and Akane desperately trying to have sex. The series doesn't revolve around yuri, sorry to disappoint. ^o^ Share with your straight neighbors.

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

I've finally finished the series!! I'm not going to write my full review right now since I'm barely coherent enough to write this much XD Expect a full review on Sunday (health permitting X_X, I'd better not still be sick on Sunday), but I just needed to say that I LOVE THIS SERIES. SO MUCH.

I can't wait to read what you have in store for us, Midori-sama. We were so pumped for the last three episodes, it was like an adrenaline rush.

I just it before and I'll say it again, the first 2 minutes of Otome's final battle were more exciting than the entire Obsidian Prince battle as a whole.

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

Luu Sky Sapphire wrote:I just it before and I'll say it again, the first 2 minutes of Otome's final battle were more exciting than the entire Obsidian Prince battle as a whole.

I'll write all my thoughts tomorrow, as I think I will feel coherent enough to put my thoughts together (or maybe not with watching Komu's boxset XDDDD) but I just had to comment on this. The final battle was one of the best battles I've ever seen in anime in general. It was just that good.

Alright, I'm here to review the last part of Mai-Otome! Don't mind too much if its a bit disjointed or not in the right order, since I can't remember exactly what happened in what episode XD But I'm sure you'll get the point....

Anyways! Where I last left off is when ugly robotic buggy things were starting to attack Windbloom. And all the Otome come to FIGHTO! I was not at all prepared for Erstin dying. AT ALL. Omg it was so sad T___T But so noble that she would rather die than kill Arika. I totally cried.

So Nina goes to work for Nagi-asshat. I can't really say I didn't see that one coming. My hate for Nagi really didn't go anywhere from HiME to Otome XD He did make the perfect villian to be hated. Even if the Black Diamond Meister robe was freaking awesome looking. While it was a bit predictable that Nina went to be evil and stuff, her character was still complex. Her feelings towards her friends, towards Sergay, it wasn't all one dimensional.

Speaking of Sergay, holy crap pedophile XD But I'll get to that a little later XD Right now, everything went BOOM and Mashiro is forced to realize what a mess she really turned her country into, and with the help of Midori and Arika, she comes to realize what she really wants for herself and for her people. And may I just say, character development for the effing win.

Was it then we had another big boom and we wind up with Mai and Mikoto? Either way MIKOTO. I loved her in HiME and I love her just as much in Otome. I want a kitty staff so bad XDDD I love that their characters may be a bit different than from HiME but they still had that bond and relationship <3 And Mikoto still loves FOOD :D

Okay now back to Sergay and his creepy relationship with Nina. I really found that whole scene a bit uncomfortable because.... he's a father figure. I don't care how old she is, how he is, that just crosses a line to me. Creepy relationship was creepy. Nina did it with her daddy, just sayin'.

I'm really losing my train of thought, LOL. CHIE! Yes, Chie. So she goes over to the dark side, but she totally doesn't really. Although she was pretty damn hot in the Obsidian robe >> I'm glad she wasn't really one of the Plastics XD

The battle between Nina and Arika was pretty epically awesome. Only they could wind up in space fighting. I felt that whole battle was very Sailor Moon-esque. And Arika being very Usagi-like definitely helped this. The final battle, and well all the battles in general really kicked HiME's battles' asses. The fight scenes were a lot more action based and I like that more. The last fight was just.... awesome. That's the only word I think of to describe it.

I'm sure there's more to say and more I've missed but I've already typed a lot XD In short, I LOVE THIS SERIES. I definitely like Otome a bit more than HiME, even though I do love HiME to death as well. I am now going to have an epic threesome with Midori and Chie. :D

Sakaki wrote:The battle between Nina and Arika was pretty epically awesome. Only they could wind up in space fighting. I felt that whole battle was very Sailor Moon-esque. And Arika being very Usagi-like definitely helped this. The final battle, and well all the battles in general really kicked HiME's battles' asses. The fight scenes were a lot more action based and I like that more. The last fight was just.... awesome. That's the only word I think of to describe it.

I'm sure there's more to say and more I've missed but I've already typed a lot XD In short, I LOVE THIS SERIES. I definitely like Otome a bit more than HiME, even though I do love HiME to death as well. I am now going to have an epic threesome with Midori and Chie. :D

I've enjoyed your review of the Mai-Otome series so much, Miss Sakaki. There's so much love for Mai-HiME over it's successor that I never understood. When and if Mr. Sapphire ever returns, I will need to bring this to his attention. Mai-Otome, while still a silly cartoon, is a more exciting experience than it's predecessor and still maintained it's story/drama.

The final confrontation between Miss Arika Yumemiya and Miss Nina Wang was a "rip-off" of the Eternal Sailor Moon and Chaos confrontation from Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, which worked to it's advantage. Ponder about it for just a brief minute. After Nina practically went on a kingdom genocide, couldn't figure out the obvious that Mr. Nagi was a tyrannical villain and had trouble accepting the fact that Arika is a hair better than her as an Otome, Arika still found it in her heart to forgive her. It was an emotional finale which immediately followed Arika discovering Lena Sayers (which I'll admit, brought me to tears) and all the Otome being freed from their meaningless contracts.

Mai-Otome is much better than Mai-HiME. My only regret is not seeing my favorite character, Miss Fumi, often as I did in HiME. Maids do indeed rule. Tee-hee *smiles*

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

Elenore Baker wrote:Mai-Otome, while still a silly cartoon, is a more exciting experience than it's predecessor and still maintained it's story/drama.

Midori-san says she couldn't agree more with this. She loves Mai-HiME a lot, but the magic and humor and excitement in Mai-Otomedefinitely trumps HiME. *nods*

Elenore Baker wrote:The final confrontation between Miss Arika Yumemiya and Miss Nina Wang was a "rip-off" of the Eternal Sailor Moon and Chaos confrontation from Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, which worked to it's advantage. Ponder about it for just a brief minute. After Nina practically went on a kingdom genocide, couldn't figure out the obvious that Mr. Nagi was a tyrannical villain and had trouble accepting the fact that Arika is a hair better than her as an Otome, Arika still found it in her heart to forgive her. It was an emotional finale which immediately followed Arika discovering Lena Sayers (which I'll admit, brought me to tears) and all the Otome being freed from their meaningless contracts.

Midori-san wouldn't say it is a complete "rip-off," she's sure there are other anime out there that used the same ideals, but it really worked here. The ending was just so amazing.

Recently Billy and I watched Mai-Otome. We finished today, actually. Since we watched the English version, we had much fun laughing at the way they said things and some of their voices. Like, Tomeo's voice? Lmaooo.

Anyway, Billy said he loved the fight scenes and the epic background music. Of course, we watched Sifr. first, and so the whole time, we were like, wishing Lena was the star of the show instead of Arika. Because Lena was such a BAMF. We also thought it was creepy that they were using their corpses to create GEMs.

Plot-wise, I still didn't enjoy it. I can only take so many dramatic conventions. And it seemed a little weak compared to HiME. However, now that I watched it in English, I really understood the political side and what was happening with that. So I did enjoy that. The constant fan-service was annoying, too.

I've actually grown to like Sergay, before I thought he was a creep and that Nina and Arika were pedophile-enablers. It's still true to an extent, but now that I actually comprehend what Sergay was all about, I kind of like him. Nina and Arika annoyed me, but just because I've never been into the goody-two-shoes-feelings-type-person. If that makes sense. And Nagi grew on me too...what can I say? I'm a sucker for the cool, calculating and evil type. -- Sorry if my review is all over the place, I don't know where to start!

The fight scenes were definitely better than HiME's though and it pushed the creepy-boundaries further than HiME did, as well.

Nice review, Kara! You're on a roll lately! I also have to agree with you about Sergay. I'm not quite sure Sergay was a truly great character, more like a plot device to set Nina off to the dark side (thanks to Nagi's influence) but he did play an important role nonetheless.

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

Nice review, Kara! You're on a roll lately! I also have to agree with you about Sergay. I'm not quite sure Sergay was a truly great character, more like a plot device to set Nina off to the dark side (thanks to Nagi's influence) but he did play an important role nonetheless.

I know, I've been getting so much done lately! It's great:)

And yeah, Sergay was something interesting. I don't think he was a great character, I just like him more than I did before since he had his BAMF moments that I never paid attention to before because he creeped me out, but then he had his creepy moments too, so that was weird.